Methyl salicylate and how it affects green lacewing predation on the azalea lace bug

The Azalea Lace Bug is a recent invasive in Oregon that has caused substantial damage to rhododendrons and azalea plants in the Pacific Northwest.  Biological options to control the population of the Azalea Lace Bug have gained traction as a less environmentally toxic means of control than chemical applications.  Releases of green lacewing (GLW) larvae, Chrysoperla carnea, have shown promise in past studies with azaleas.  However, studies evaluating the effect of another commercially available species, Chrysoperla rufilabris, are needed especially in rhododendrons which have a larger and sparser canopy system than azaleas.  Moreover, the effects of a synthetically-derived herbivore-induced plant volatile, methyl salicylate (MeSA), on predation rates of the Azalea Lave Bug have not been fully investigated.  We conducted a small study at a commercial nursery to test if green lacewing with MeSA reduced populations and found that GLW and MeSA combined significantly reduced populations for the first two weeks and over the total six weeks the experiment was conducted.  Subsequent trials will assess how MeSA affects predation rates as well as to determine if C. rufilabris and MeSA (alone or combined) contributes to the reduction in Azalea Lace Bug populations.